Air-tight door



. (No Model.) 2 8heets$heet 1.

G. KENNEDY.

AIR TIGHT DOOR. v No. 458,465. Patented Augr25, 1891.

' WITNESS INVENTOR,

V a/ I M BY ATTORNEY? (No Model.) 2 Sheets. eeeee 2.

G, KENNEDY.

IIIIIIIIIII R.

No. 458,465. j, Patented Aug. 25, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUY KENNEDY, O'F OSAGE, IOYVA.

AIR-TIGHT DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 458,465, dated August 25, 1891.

Application filed October 25, 1890. Serial No. 369,276. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUY KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Osage, in the county of Mitchell and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Tight Doors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvementin attachments for doors, and is especially intended to render the same air-tight, at the same time acting as a lock to securely fasten a door in closed position.

The object sought to be accomplished is to produce more effective means for accomplishing this purpose than have heretofore been known.

lVith these ends in view my invention may be said to consist in the peculiarities of con struction and combination of parts, more fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, making part of the specification, Figure 1 represents an inside view of the door provided with my improved attachment and .shown in locked adjustment; Fig. 2, a vertical section through line a; sect Fig. 1;. Fig. 3, an end view of the door; Fig. 4, a front view, and Figs. 5 and 6 detail views My arrangement is specially adapted for refrigerator-doors, and the like, which must be rendered perfectly air-tight in order to insure the proper preservation of the contents of the refrigerator. k

In the drawings, the reference-letter A indicates the door, and B the casing to which it is hinged, and through the center of said door extends arock-shaft O, which is provided with a suitable hinged handle D, having in its terminate abruptly in plane faces I, and in the front surfaces of said wings are formed curved grooves J ,which extend from the central portion of the disk out of the respective end faces I Around the edges of the door are arranged a number of metallic bars K, which are four in number-two for the top and bottom and two for the sides-and said bars are made with beveled ends L, thus fitting snugly together when contracted and closely to the corners of easing when extended. Rubber faciugs M are secured to the inside surfaces of these bars and project slightly beyond them, whereby they will be caused to jamb against the casing,and thus greatly aid in effecting an airtight closure.

The sliding bars are connected to the central rotary disk by rods N, which are bolted at their outer ends to the centers of the respective bars, through slots 0, whereby said bars can be adjusted to differentsized doors. The inner ends of these rods are cut away underneath, converging shoulders P being formed, and the reduced portions extend over the disk G, and are each provided with projecting guide-pins Q, which fit in the radial grooves J, respectively, while the inclined shoulders P engage the outside curved surfaces of the spiral wings and assist in guiding the rods.

Suitable cleats R are secured to the inside of the door, and they form guides, through which the long vertical rods extend to the top and bottom bars K.

The side bars are guided in their movements by means of brackets S, which are secured to the door and have outwardly-bent ends T, which extend over the outside surfaces of the bars and have inwardly-turned edges U, which engage cross slots or recesses V in the bars, and thus guide the latter in their movements in and out.

I provide against movement of the parts when the door is open, as follows: A pair of flat springs are secured to the inside of the door, and project over and beyond the bar next to the side of the casing, being provided on their under sides with projecting pins X, which engage corresponding depressions in said bar when the springs are in their normal position, pressing against the latter, and thus act to prevent movement of the locking parts; but when the door is swung to these springs strike against the sloping sides of suitable recesses Y in the casing, and are thus thrown back, so that their projections are brought from the depressionsin the bar, and thus the latter is released. The sliding bars may be provided with projections Z, which form bolts for locking thedoorin closed position, and such bolts are arranged to enter recesses in the casing provided for them.

From the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the operation of my device will be apparent and might be briefly stated as follows: With the parts in their contracted positions it will be seen that by turning the handle D on the outside of the door the rock-shaft will be revolved and the disk turned, whereby the several bars will be thrown out against the sides of the door-casing by reason of the inner ends of the rods N being connected to the radial wings of the disk in the manner described, and guidedby the grooves in the latter. By a reverse movement of the handle D it will be evident that the bars will all be withdrawn from the sides of the casing, and when the door is opened and the springs U released from the recesses Y the projection on said springs will engage the depression in the bar and lock the parts, as previously explained. Thus it will be seen that the door when closed is absolutely air-tight, the corners of the easing being filled by the rubber facings on the bars, and hence the arrangement possesses great advantages when used on refrigerators or the like.

It is evident that many slight changes which might suggest themselves to a skilled mechanic could be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to confine myself to the precise construction herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a door,oE a number of sliding bars having beveled adjacent ends and rubber facings fixed to them, arockshaft extending through the center of the door and being provided with a suitable handle, a disk rigid on said rock-shaft and provided with a series of radially-extending arms or wings provided with grooves, and rods connecting the sliding bars and said disk and being provided with shoulders en gaging the outside curving'surfaces of the radial arms, and lugs or pins fitting the grooves in the latter, whereby the turning of the rock-shaft acts to throw said bars in and out, as described.

2. The combination, with a door, of a series of sliding bars arranged around the edges of the same, a rock-shaft extending through the center of the door and being provided with a suitable handle, a disk rigid on said shaft, rods connecting the sliding bars and said disk, whereby the turning of the rock-shaft acts to throw said bars in and out, and guides for the latter, consisting of brackets secured to the doors and extending over said bars, having inwardly -'turned edges engaging crossslots in the latter, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with sliding bars arranged on a door and adapted to be thrown out against the door-casing, of springs secured to the door and extending out over and beyond one of said bars, said springs being provided with lugs engaging corresponding depressions in said bar, and their ends being arranged to come in contact with inclined surfaces in the casing, whereby said springs will be thrown out clear of the sliding bar when the door is closed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GUY KENNEDY.

Witnesses:

(J. F. HAMBRECHT, J. F. CLYDE. 

